Former Nippon Professional Baseball right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano and the Baltimore Orioles are in agreement on a one-year, $13 million contract, a league source confirmed to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Sugano, 35, was projected by The Athletic’s Tim Britton for a one-year $11 million deal, and was ranked as the No. 35 free agent on The Athletic’s Big Board.
Source confirms: Japanese free-agent RHP Tomoyuki Sugano in agreement with Orioles on one-year, $13M contract. First: @JeffPassan
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 17, 2024
Because Sugano had more than nine years of professional service time in NPB, he will not be subject to a posting fee.
A 12-year veteran of NPB, with all of his seasons spent with the Yomiuri Giants, Sugano has a career 2.43 ERA across 1,873 1/3 innings and 281 games (99 starts). Over that span, Sugano struck out 1,596 batters against 352 walks.
Sugano, 35, enters Major League Baseball as one of Japan’s more accomplished arms. He’s a two-time Sawamura Award winner (Japan’s equivalent of the Cy Young Award), as well as a two-time Central League MVP. He’s earned eight All-Star nods, along with a pitching triple crown, four ERA titles and two strikeout titles.
4 Ks through 4 for Tomoyuki Sugano so far.
— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) October 17, 2024
2024 marked Sugano’s second foray into the international free agency pool, as the righty had previously been posted back in 2020 as part of the 2021 class. He was posted in Dec. 2020, however, failed to sign with a team within the 45-day negotiating window. Instead, he returned to the Giants, before once again testing the MLB waters this offseason.
When Sugano does pitch for the Orioles next spring, he will be the second most recent Japanese pitcher to call Camden Yards home. Previously, Baltimore executed a trade for Shintaro Fujinami in 2023, with the then-29-year-old righty posting a 4.85 ERA over 30 games. Armed with several breaking balls, Sugano will join a roster headlined by Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez.
(Photo of Sugano from 2021: Kyodo via Associated Press)
